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Gas Delivery Startups Want to Fill Up Your Car Anywhere, But It Might Not Be Legal (bloomberg.com)
Eric Newcomer, reporting for Bloomberg: A new crop of startups are trying to make gas stations obsolete. Tap an app, and they'll bring the gas to you, filling up your car while you're at work or at home. Filld, WeFuel, Yoshi, Purple and Booster Fuels have started operating in a few cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia. But officials in some of those cities say that driving around in a pickup truck with hundreds of gallons of gasoline might not be safe. "It is not permitted," said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco fire department, adding that if San Francisco residents see any companies fueling vehicles in the city, they should call the fire department. "We haven't talked to them. I don't know about that. It's news to me," said Nick Alexander, co-founder of Yoshi. "You can never ask for permission because no one will give it," said Chris Aubuchon, the chief executive officer at Filld. The Los Angeles Fire Department said it's drafting a policy around gasoline delivery. "Our current fire code does not allow this process; however, we are exploring a way this could be allowed with some restrictions," said Capt. Daniel Curry, a spokesman for the city's fire department.
When I read the headline, I immediately thought of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
What they say:
"Our current fire code does not allow this process; however, we are exploring a way this could be allowed with some restrictions," said Capt. Daniel Curry
What they mean:
"We will soon let you know how much we are going to tax your new business opportunity!"
I'm going to start a competitor named FillDD. The two D's are for a "double-dose of pumpin".
with pumping gasoline is the spillage. In the Netherlands, all gas stations are required to have non-porous paving to make sure spills don't end up in the ground.
The other problem is that it's inefficient. Instead of people filling up at the next station they come across, some guy has to drive everywhere to fill up one customer at a time.
A new crop of startups are trying to make gas stations obsolete.
Where then are they getting the gas from? If we're talking about pickup truck beds full of (large containers of) gasoline I would expect they are still filling them at gas stations. They are then just up-charging the people who are paying for it for their own cars. The gas stations are still selling just as much gas, and in fact might do better as this process could involve more consumption.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Sure, but with Web 3.0, you don't ask for permission or worry about regulations, and do whatever you want, no matter how harmful. It's the Eric Cartman school of business, and it seems to be very popular these days.
"You can never ask for permission because no one will give it"
Translation:
"We are fully aware that our business model violates multiple safety and environmental laws. But we're an app, so fuck you."
Do you realy want to be in a uber that is also a tanker truck?
Granted, I can see startups trying to put a plastic water tank on the back of a pickup and call it the same thing
Ding! From TFA:
Purple has a fleet of about 80 cars driving around Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Seattle with up to a half-dozen five-gallon gas canisters in the trunk.
Are they fucking insane?
Sure, but with Web 3.0, you don't ask for permission or worry about regulations, and do whatever you want, no matter how harmful.
It's the Eric Cartman school of business, and it seems to be very popular these days.
It's the "Uber guide to evading pesky governmental regulation" approach - you just buy "activists" and lobby local governments to keep the hounds at bay until your service gains critical mass and can't be legislated away.
http://www.politico.com/story/...
Does corruption by any other name stink as strongly?
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Glad you asked, the normal shutoff failed at a pump I was using and gasoline started spilling onto the ground, and it was newer pump without the manual shutoff level. Finally saw kill switch for the whole island of pumps....four gallons plus on the ground. Guy running station saw the mess and killed ALL the pumps and fire department came. Fun times.
You have no idea how the tanker trucks are restricted and designed, do you? The "basic standards" completely prohibit what this company is doing, you can't carry and deliver liquid fuel in *anything* you please, nor to *anywhere* you please, check your state laws your state fire marshal would arrest your ass!
Have you ever actually BEEN to a gas station? Did you ever wonder 'why is that concrete slab there'? The whole area is usually asphalt, but where the pumps (and where the tanker delivers) is concrete. And that concrete usually has a pattern of grooves around the perimeter. Do you think that is just a nice design they all happened to like? The concrete is there for three reasons: prevent spills (which DO happen) from seeping into the ground, keep spills in one place (the grooves) so it can be properly cleaned up, and because gasoline is incredibly damaging to asphalt.
When you are done looking at the ground, look up. See all those nozzles sticking out of the canopy? More fancy design? No. Automatic fire suppression. Can you think of any reason THAT might be a good idea?
Yes, gas station leaks do sometimes happen. And who is responsible when they do? The property owner. Just think of how happy parking lot owners are going to be when some jackass not only damages the lot with a spill, but leaves them with contaminated property THEY are responsible for. No sane parking lot owner would ever allow something stupid like this in their lot.
And where did you get the idiotic idea that unburned fuel comes out the tailpipe? That stuff you see dripping is water, not fuel. If unburned fuel is coming out something is seriously wrong, and an overheated converter and possible vehicle fire are coming shortly.
I have a fleet of 20 semi-truck, and I keep an old tanker in my yard, I call various fuel companies and they will come and fill my tanker with 3000 gallons, no problem. I've been getting fuel this way for over 10 years now, so I don't see this as much different, as long as they guy making the delivery is trained properly then there shouldn't be an issue. Yes I've had stuff happen, like one time when they were filling his hose decided to pop and spilled maybe 20-30 gallons of fuel before he could shut the pump off, they carry enough pads and blocker bags to clean up small messes, or hold back a big mess long enough for someone to come and clean it up properly.
The actual model being used is "we require stationary gas retailers to be licensed, regulated, and inspected and are applying the same standard to mobile refueling."
One is legally regulated (already in place) the other is "oh shit, that is something current laws don't account for" retroactive regulation for something that isn't stationary.
From your quoted article
“Our current fire code does not allow this process; however, we are exploring a way this could be allowed with some restrictions,”
Which is utter bullshit. Take a look here (hint, already legal) http://www.transferflow.com/fu...
With a Transfer Flow refueling tank, you don’t have to guess! Our refueling tanks are Department of Transportation (DOT) legal to carry and transfer gas, diesel, ethanol, methanol, kerosene and jet fuel in all 50 U.S. states. Having a DOT legal refueling tank from Transfer Flow means you won’t get red tagged and fined by your Highway Patrol for carrying an illegal fuel tank in the bed of your truck. Click here to see our Special Permit from the Department of Transportation.
Good luck preventing that which already exists, simply because it disrupts existing markets.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.